Chief's case for new status

IN an exclusive interview with Chronicle reporter Louise Watt, chief executive of the Countess of Chester NHS Trust Peter Herring talks about why he wants to see the Countess become a foundation hospital

IN an exclusive interview with Chronicle reporter Louise Watt, chief executive of the Countess of Chester NHS Trust Peter Herring talks about why he wants to see the Countess become a foundation hospital

FOR Peter Herring, foundation status cannot come quickly enough.

'We will have a greater level of freedom to make decisions,' he said. 'We will be able to introduce service changes more rapidly instead of the current bureaucratic practices.'

He compared the idea of foundation hospitals to a housing association, which is 'not for profit, and which provides services to many people'.

He said: 'Foundation hospitals are going to become truly self-governing organisations providing services to NHS patients, of course free of charge as one would expect.

'The government view is that you get better decisions if they are made at a local level, and we agree with that principle. You can't efficiently run the biggest employer in the country from central government.'

Despite that, Mr Herring said there had not been a problem with public accountability in the past.

'I wouldn't say there has been a problem but we can improve the way we develop services and we would need to do that whether or not we were a foundation trust,' he said. 'There's a recognition that we can make more informed decisions by involving local people and we do a lot of that already -but we can do a lot more.'

The government's plans have been criticised for opening the way towards privatising the NHS and creating a two-tier system where non-foundation status hospitals get left behind.

'We certainly don't think it's a step towards privatisation,' said Mr Herring. 'NHS foundation trusts - and there's an NHS in that title - will be providing services almost exclusively to NHS patients, free of charge.'

He said he did not believe there would be a two-tiered system 'because eventually over the next five years all hospitals are expected to become foundation trusts'.

He added: 'Because of the inequality which exists in certain hospitals we haven't actually got equality of funding now so I would suggest we have a multi-tiered system currently.'

Historical funding patterns have meant the Countess currently receives below average levels of funding.

Another part of the government's NHS reforms is that from April next year, any patient waiting more than six months for an operation will be able to choose to go to a different hospital. In 2005 patients needing an operation will be given a choice of four or five hospitals, including private sector hospitals.

Mr Herring said the more competitive environment that would result from hospitals competing with one another would be positive for patients.

'The more competitive environment means that there is more pressure on us to ensure that we are able to deliver those low waiting times and that we are able to maintain high quality services, because if we don't do that clearly investment will go elsewhere. It does drive you to become more and more responsive.'

However, this element of competition is Mr Herring's main concern for the future.

'Clearly because we're in this competitive environment in terms of there's a number of alternative providers being introduced then we have to be successful for the future to be able to attract investment for the local hospital and there's a risk that that investment will go elsewhere. That's a concern but we have got to be able to respond to it.'